Knee braces are used to stabilize the knee by preventing excessive movement of the knee, or to facilitate movement of the knee. Many braces comprise a frame and have hinges located on at least one of the lateral and medial sides of the knee joint. Straps are used to secure the brace to the leg or knee. An injured knee can be fit with an “off the shelf” brace or a custom fit brace, with the selection of the type of brace depending on the size and shape of an individual's leg.
Many knee braces are designed to reduce knee instability following an injury, fatigue or to treat impairment of the knee, particularly if the knee has damaged ligaments. Braces may be recommended for walking, skiing, running, twisting, pivoting, or jumping activities. In addition to providing increased stability to the knee, braces may also decrease the risk of injuring the knee or leg, or provide corrective assistance to the knee.
Braces are apt for protecting knee joints and supplementing knee joints. For example, skiers often experience fatigue in their quadriceps which may lead to knee pain due to overstressed muscles and joints. While many solutions exist for supplementing the knee joint by taking some of the load of the skier off of the knee; these solutions are often cumbersome and inhibit certain movement by the skier when the skier is not engaged in skiing such as when he is riding a ski lift.
Braces designed for assisting individuals having trouble in controlling the muscles in their legs are of particular interest. The need for knee treatment for these individuals is generally the result of a stroke or an accident, or for individuals with spinal cord injuries or birth defects which impair control of the legs and knees. Typically, these individuals require both stability at the knee and some dynamic assistance for moving the knee joint, thereby enabling the individual to walk.
Some drawbacks of known knee braces are that the braces keep the leg straight, and that there is no dynamic response when the knee is bent. By letting the knee bend, injuries of the knee can heal faster, and rehabilitation can occur much quicker. Also, by providing a brace with dynamic response, individuals with leg and knee impairment may use braces to walk in a natural manner, the intention being to allow the wearer both to walk normally and also to carry out physical exercise.
Another drawback to known knee braces is that individuals consider them to be heavy, hot and bulky in size. Many braces are expensive and include complex hinge mechanisms and awkward strap arrangements. It is found that sometimes these braces do not always work or they fail to treat the knee as intended, either by simply failing to stabilize the knee or not sufficiently securing to the leg. Moreover, some braces continually restrain movement by the wearer when the brace is worn and fail to provide selective corrective action when such correction is required only intermittently.